Pregnant or hormonal issue?

Patient: Is it possible to be pregnant and not know it? My last period was four days late and then only days long. It was fairly heavy for a short while and then just stopped. I didn’t think that much about it, even though I am very regular and never late. I did have heartburn and threw up once before my period began. However, a week after I felt sick, almost hungover feeling for several days. I had headaches, felt like I could throw up, and my breasts are bigger. I also feel like there is a tightness in my uterus and have never felt like that before. I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. However, my mom said that she never tested positive on urine samples and the doctor always had to do a blood test. Is it possible to be pregnant and not test positive? Should I go to the doctor and do a blood test or wait and see what happens?

Doctor: Hello,If your present periods have been short and only for a day then urine pregnancy test may not detect any pregnan cy ideally till 7 days post missed period as the levels of hcg has to be around 1500 units for the test to return result. So, it better to get a serum beta hcg test done which is very sensitive and detect pregnancy after just 7 days of intercourse. If the levels of hcg are more than 1, then you are pregnant and if less than 1, then you are not.If the test is negative then the symptoms can be easily attributed to the premenstrual syndrome or PMS and it indicates that you may have your menses again in full flow and the delay may be caused by possible stress-induced hormonal imbalances during the month.I hope I have answered your query in detail,wishing you good health,Regards,

Dr. Suneel Sharman M.D.

Dr. Suneel Sharman completed his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. He currently operates Infinity Health Centre, a walk-in-clinic in downtown Toronto.